The present invention relates in general to therapeutic devices and methods such as massage devices that couple acoustic energy and suction action to stimulate specific areas of living organisms for the purposes of massage and reduction of cellulite fat.
Many different techniques and apparatus are known in prior art for massage using flowing water. Some, made by various manufacturers, that are marketed through plumbing and hardware stores are capable of discharging water streams for impacting and massaging the human body. For instance U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,689,839 and 4,726,080 describe a tap water powered hydrotherapy apparatus in which a water stream is discharged from a discharge orifice into a tub below the water surface and energy derived from the supplied tap water causes the discharge orifice to move along a travel path.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,106 discloses a hand-held tap water-powered water discharge apparatus that can operate in submerged hydro-massage mode. The preferred apparatus described wherein includes a sealed housing preferably configured to be held in a user""s hand and mounted on the free end of a flexible tap water supply hose. A jet pump is mounted in the housing that, in hydro-massage mode, uses the supplied water to entrain tub water.
A related apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,459 wherein an electric pump-powered submersible hand-held apparatus for discharging of a water stream for massaging the human body. The apparatus includes a hand-held housing mounted on the free end of a flexible hose. An electric pump draws in tub water and supplies it under the pressure necessary for flow through the hose, to the nozzle that discharges a water jet.
All above-mentioned apparatuses generate pulsing water flow streams for massaging the human body. Their disadvantage is that they do not generate the vibrations affecting the body""s skin. In other words, the skin does not undergo the periodical tension stresses that are beneficial for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging which includes a fluid supply connected by means of the supply hose to the inlet of a valve for the control of the fluid flow-rate and pressure. The outlet of the valve by means of the flexible hose is connected to a hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator. The hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator has a hollow cavitation suction chamber having at least one inlet tangential to the axis of symmetry of said hollow cavitational suction chamber allowing the passage of the fluid from a fluid supply into the said hollow cavitational suction chamber of the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator and at least one outlet for discharging the fluid flowing through the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator thereby generating the periodical low frequency suctions and high frequency vibrations on the surface of the human skin due to the flow of fluid through the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator.
It is another object of present invention to provide an apparatus for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging in which the hollow cavitational suction chamber of hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator has a cylindrical shape having the cross-sectional square area 3 to 16 times more than the cross-sectional square area of inlet the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator.
It is another object of present invention to provide an apparatus for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging in which the hollow cavitational suction chamber of hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator has a spherical shape having the cross-sectional square area at the symmetry center of the sphere 2.5 to 16 times more than the cross-sectional square area of inlet of the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator.
It is another object of present invention to provide an apparatus for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging in which at least one pin is installed on the bottom of the hollow cavitational suction chamber the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator.
It is another object of present invention to provide an apparatus for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging in which at least one roller is installed on the bottom of the hollow cavitational suction chamber of the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator.
It is further object of present invention to provide a method for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging session comprising the steps of providing a fluid supply connected by means of a supply hose to the control flow rate and pressure valve which in turn is connected by means of the flexible hose to the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator applied to the massaging part of user""s body submerged under the surface of liquid in said liquid-filled vessel and supplying the 2-10 gpm flow rate of the fluid through the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator thereby generating the periodical suction force in the range of 0.5-70 N on the frequency of 10-200 Hz and high frequency vibrations in the bandwidth of 1-20 kHz.
It is another object of present invention to provide a method for dispersing of the cellulite fat under the body""s skin and relaxation of muscles during the massaging in which the amplitude of the suction pressure Ps of periodical suction force is defined by the formulae:             P      s        =                  ρ        ⁢                  xe2x80x83                ⁢                  Q          2                            10.5        ⁢                  S          in          2                      ,
wherein xcfx81 is a liquid density, Q is the flow rate of fluid through the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator and Sin is the cross-sectional square area of at least one inlet of the hydro-suction vibration bio-stimulator.